Calama climate — normals and trends
Calama (Chile) has a cold desert climate (BWk) under the Köppen-Geiger classification. Its mean annual temperature is 13.3 °C and it receives 50 mm of precipitation per year.
These figures are normals computed over 86 complete calendar years, from 1940 to 2025, using ERA5 reanalysis data from the Copernicus programme.
The warmest month is January (15.6 °C on average) and the coldest is June (9.8 °C). Rainfall peaks in January.
Calama averages 11 frost days, 0 hot days (≥ 30 °C) and 10 rainy days per year.
Calama has warmed by +2.3 °C between 1940 and 2025, or +0.27 °C per decade. This trend is statistically significant.
The number of frost days there went from about 20 to 2 per year over the period.
The hottest day of the period reached 29.0 °C (on 8 October 1979) and the coldest -8.0 °C (on 17 June 1940).
Data from ERA5 reanalysis (Copernicus Climate Change Service), redistributed under a CC-BY 4.0 licence. Normals are recomputed whenever the archive is updated.
Climate normals · ERA5
CalamaAntofagasta
- coords
- -22.46°, -68.92°
- period
- 1940–2025 · 86 yrs
Mean daily temperature
13.3°C
Average daily high
20.6°C
Average daily low
5.7°C
Annual rainfall
50mm
Sunshine / day
11.6h
Mean relative humidity
34%
Average peak wind
22.5km/h
Seasonal range
5.8°C
Frost days (< 0 °C)
11 d/yr
Hot days (≥ 30 °C)
0 d/yr
Rainy days (≥ 1 mm)
10 d/yr
Annual snowfall
1.9 cm
Average feels-like high
17.1 °C
Average feels-like low
1.6 °C
Average peak gust
47.8 km/h
Tropical nights (≥ 20 °C)
0 d/yr
Solar radiation
25.7 MJ/m²
Has the climate changed?
One stripe per year, 1940 to 2025
+2.3 °C
since 1940
+0.3 °C per decade · r² = 0.73 · p = < 0.001
Trend fitted by linear regression (ordinary least squares) on annual means. A trend is shown only when it is statistically significant (p < 0.05).
A climograph overlays rainfall (bars) and temperature (line): the standard reading in climatology, where you can see at a glance whether the warm season is also the dry one.
Records for the period
Hottest day
29.0 °C
8 October 1979
Coldest day
-8.0 °C
17 June 1940
Wettest day
56 mm
14 June 1940
Windiest day
43.1 km/h
1 August 1967
Strongest gust
103.7 km/h
24 May 2014
Hottest feels-like
26.5 °C
18 January 2020
Coldest feels-like
-14.5 °C
17 June 1940
Snowiest day
33.0 cm
14 June 1940
Sunniest day
13.1 h
5 January 2003
Normals computed over complete calendar years 1940–2025.
A specific year
Pick a year and see how it compares to normal — warmer, drier or more extreme than usual?
Across the whole year
Month by month
| High | vs. normal | Precipitation | vs. normal | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 23.1 °C | +1.2 °C | 0 mm | -11 mm |
| Feb | 22.8 °C | +1.0 °C | 8 mm | -3 mm |
| Mar | 23.1 °C | +1.5 °C | 5 mm | -3 mm |
| Apr | 21.4 °C | +0.5 °C | 4 mm | +2 mm |
| May | 21.3 °C | +1.9 °C | 0 mm | -4 mm |
| Jun | 17.4 °C | -0.6 °C | 14 mm | +9 mm |
| Jul | 20.3 °C | +2.1 °C | 4 mm | +2 mm |
| Aug | 19.2 °C | -0.2 °C | 1 mm | -1 mm |
| Sep | 22.0 °C | +1.5 °C | 0 mm | -1 mm |
| Oct | 22.3 °C | +0.7 °C | 0 mm | -0 mm |
| Nov | 22.9 °C | +0.8 °C | 0 mm | -1 mm |
| Dec | 22.1 °C | -0.2 °C | 2 mm | -1 mm |
The year's extremes
What was the weather like that day?
Your birthday, a wedding, a memorable trip: discover the actual weather for any date since 1940.
Frequently asked questions
What is the climate of Calama?
Calama has a cold desert climate (Köppen BWk). Over 1940-2025, the average annual temperature is 13.3 °C and it receives 50 mm of precipitation per year.
What is the hottest day ever recorded in Calama?
The hottest day measured in Calama between 1940 and 2025 was 8 October 1979, reaching 29.0 °C.
What is the coldest day in Calama?
The coldest day measured in Calama between 1940 and 2025 was 17 June 1940, at -8.0 °C.
Does it snow in Calama?
Yes. Calama gets on average 1.9 cm of snow per year and has around 11 frost days.
Has the climate of Calama warmed?
Yes: Calama warmed by +2.3 °C between 1940 and 2025, a statistically significant trend.
What is the wettest day in Calama?
The wettest day measured in Calama between 1940 and 2025 was 14 June 1940, with 56 mm of rain in 24 hours.
What was the windiest day in Calama?
The windiest day measured in Calama between 1940 and 2025 was 1 August 1967, with winds reaching 43.1 km/h.
What is the warmest month in Calama?
The warmest month in Calama is January (15.6 °C on average); the coldest is June (9.8 °C).
How much does it rain in Calama?
Calama receives on average 50 mm of precipitation per year, spread over about 10 rainy days.
Is it sunny in Calama?
Calama gets on average 11.6 hours of sunshine per day, roughly 4,234 hours per year over 1940-2025.
What is the biggest single-day snowfall in Calama?
The heaviest 24-hour snowfall measured in Calama between 1940 and 2025 was 14 June 1940, with 33.0 cm.
Are there tropical nights in Calama?
Almost never: tropical nights (temperature staying above 20 °C) are virtually non-existent in Calama.
What was the most extreme apparent temperature in Calama?
In Calama, between 1940 and 2025, the highest apparent temperature reached 26.5 °C on 18 January 2020, and the lowest was -14.5 °C on 17 June 1940.
Compare Calama with another city
Pick a second city: its normals will be set against these, indicator by indicator.
Nearby cities
The climate around Calama